Saturday, Oct. 15, is the deadline for the first filing under a new law governing out-of-state travel expenses reimbursed by public colleges and universities. The Missouri Legislature recently passed legislation requiring every full-time employee of public institutions of higher education to disclose any out-of-state travel expenses reimbursed by the institution for the employee’s spouse. The policy is retroactive, requiring current employees to report spousal travel reimbursed as early as Aug. 28, 2015. The University of Missouri System recently updated Business Policy Manual 501 to define allowable spousal travel and establish an approval process to authorize it. Travel expenses include, but are not limited to: transportation, lodging and meals.

To complete an out-of-state travel report, please visit the Missouri Ethics Commission’s website, http://www.mec.mo.gov and create an account.

The deadlines to report are:

• Oct. 15, 2016, for reimbursements incurred between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2016
• Jan. 15, 2017, for reimbursements incurred between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2016
• Feb. 28, 2017, for spousal travel reimbursed between Aug. 28, 2015, and Aug. 27, 2016
• April 15, 2017, for reimbursements incurred between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2017
• July 15, 2017, for reimbursements incurred between April 1 and June 30, 2017

For questions about the policy, please contact Anas Massri, assistant vice chancellor of fiscal services at Missouri S&T, at 341-4067.